Can’t Make the Solar Eclipse? Catch The Perseid Meteor Shower This Weekend Instead

Every August for about the last 2,000 years, the Perseids meteor shower has passed through the sky. The spectacle is linked to the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 133 years. Here’s how it works: as Earth passes through the comet’s debris, the pieces burn in our planet’s atmosphere to create a meteor shower. This year, the Perseid meteor shower will peak on Aug. 12 and 13.

The incredible space event is expected to show 150 meteors per hour. Unfortunately, the moon will still be three quarters full, meaning the sky will be much brighter than in past years. It’s also why NASA had to debunk a rumor that this would be the “brightest shower in history.”

Look out for the shower during the night on Aug. 12 or in the early morning hours of Aug. 13. Can’t make it? Catch a Slooh livestream on Aug. 12 at 8 p.m. EDT or start set your sights on seeing the solar eclipse instead.